Converting vulcanized rubber, as commonly used in tires, to devulcanized rubber is a desirable process as it allows the converted rubber to be reused in the production of rubber products.
Various processes are known for devulcanizing rubber. For example, vulcanized rubber can be treated by heating the rubber in a solvent, which is typically water. The conversion treatment is carried out at an elevated temperature and a pressure that is approximately equal to the saturated vapour pressure of the solvent. This process may produce a reaction product that can be easily separated into polymer and carbon black. While the process is useful, the polymers produced from the high temperature processing have a molecular weight between 40,000 and 100,000 which is less than the molecular weight of 200,000-300,000 of the original polymer. As such, the polymer produced from the devulcanization process differs substantially from the original polymer and so is limited in its use as a replacement of original polymer when producing vulcanized rubber.
An additional, alternative and/or improved process for converting vulcanized rubber into polymer is desirable.